For Collectors of The Sacred, The Metaphysical, The Occult, The Rare & The Strange

March 6, 2017March 6, 2017

Yemen Wedding Necklace Antique Silver

Over 250 years old. This beautiful design was made by the silversmith’s talented hands and the five rudimentary iron tools that were also handmade. Old Yemen Silver Granule Beads were made by Jewish silversmiths in the cultural enclaves in Yemen.

It is a lost process. No longer can anyone make these tiny silver granules and then hand drill them into beads. Each silver bead represents a payer for the newly weds. It is a noble addition to your collection.

MY HISTORY WITH IT: This necklace was given to me, in the year 2000, as a gift from a man to which I became engaged. My betrothed acquired this necklace from a collector in Oman, where it touches the southeastern province of Yemen.

It is a particularly fine example of a wedding necklace, skillfully embellished with silver granule strands that are then plated. The necklace is in very good condition and easy to wear. It is made from Maria Theresa thaler coins melted down and blended with other melted silver jewelry, a common practice in Yemen jewelry making. It might have been made as late as the 1790s in Yemen.

YEMEN WEDDING CUSTOMS: Yemeni weddings have unique customs. They prepare an engagement “package” for the bride that contains an engagement dress, a gold ring and other jewelry, a pair of shoes, two pieces of expensive fabric to make dresses for the girl’s mother and grandmother, two perfume bottles, an amount of money to hold the engagement party and high quality chocolates. The Bridal necklace however was a gift from the groom to his bride to be. The more detailed fine and expensive it was, the greater the expression of his love. This would have been given to express a deep and intricate love. The bride would have worn this with pride to show how fine was the love of her husband to be.

Collectors are paying 3 times this asking price for much lessor pieces this is a bargain for the deserving collector or history buff.